


tell the world that i'm still here tonight

by KataraYue



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Domesticity, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Pro Volleyball Player Bokuto Koutarou, Single Dad AU, Slow Burn, Teacher Kuroo Tetsurou
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2020-08-25
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:15:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 17,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25077478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KataraYue/pseuds/KataraYue
Summary: “Okay, okay,” Bokuto laughs, loud and clear, “what’s your name?”“Kuroo Megumi!” she answers.“Kuroo?” Bokuto repeats, his voice not as loud as it usually is, golden eyes curious but a bit unfocused, like he’s losing himself in a long forgotten memory.“Yeah, Kuroo,” Kuroo reaffirms, a lopsided grin on his face, as Bokuto looks up at him with wide eyes.Kuroo Megumi is a very passionate little girl, she loves her dad, she loves her uncles, she loves volleyball, and she especially loves her favorite player, Bokuto Koutarou. And thanks to her, Kuroo finally gets to reconnect with one of his best friends.
Relationships: Bokuto Koutarou/Kuroo Tetsurou, Hinata Shouyou/Kozume Kenma (Background), Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru (background), Kozume Kenma & Kuroo Tetsurou
Comments: 61
Kudos: 201





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is my first hq fic and the first fic i post in english, please be indulgent with me! not beta-ed but i tried to look for mistakes, i hope there aren't too many

Kuroo rubs his eyes slowly, trying once again to focus on the pile of papers in front of him. The day is finally nearing its end and Kuroo can’t wait to get back home and rest. It’s only the start of the school year and during this first month he managed to prepare his classes pretty ahead of time, so he knows it wouldn’t be a big deal to just stop working for today. 

His phone is set down on the desk right beside the lesson he's desperately trying to prepare for one of his classes — and one of his favorites, really, a class of excited first years who love chemistry almost as much as Kuroo does — and Kuroo flexes his hand, resisting the urge to check it. He doesn’t see any notification indicating new messages, but he still wants to check it for himself. Discreetly, he eyes Nakazawa, his colleague working on the desk in front of his own, to see if she’s looking his way, and when he catches her staring at him and quietly laughing, he figures he probably wasn’t as subtle as he thought to begin with. 

He smiles apologetically at her but she brushes him off with a wave of hand and mouths at him, still softly laughing, ‘go ahead’ . Kuroo chuckles and finally take his phone in his hands, mouthing back a quiet ‘thank you’ right before she goes back to working on whatever she was doing. He still doesn’t have any new messages, but he opens his chat with Kenma and starts typing.

> **_kuroo:_ **how’s my little princess doing?

He puts his phone down, looking in the general direction of his papers without really seeing them. He knows he won’t do much more for the day and has already accepted it. Still, he pretends to work for a few more minutes, out of respect for his colleagues still working, knowing Kenma won’t take too long to reply to his text. When his phone screen lights up, he nearly drops the papers he was scribbling on to look at his phone.

> **_kenma:_ **great
> 
> **_kenma:_ **ask me how im doing
> 
> **_kenma:_ **and arent you supposed to be at work
> 
> **_kuroo:_ **can’t focus :(
> 
> **_kuroo:_ **how are you doing?
> 
> **_kenma:_ **terrible.

Kuroo laughs audibly at that, earning him a few glares from his colleagues and a soft scoff from Nakazawa. He types quickly his reply, his work long forgotten by now.

> **_kuroo:_ **what happened?
> 
> **_kenma:_ **you feed her way too much sugar
> 
> **_kenma:_ **she has so much energy. its exhausting
> 
> **_kuroo:_ **she’s 5 kenma 
> 
> **_kuroo:_ **that’s just how 5yo are
> 
> **_kenma:_ **i wasnt that energetic at 5
> 
> **_kuroo:_ **i don’t doubt it ;)
> 
> **_kuroo:_ **send me a pic i wanna see her

Kuroo waits a few more minutes without any new messages, just staring at his phone, already smiling by the time Kenma sends him the picture. Kuroo laughs out loud when he opens it, attracting once again his colleagues’ attention. To his surprise, Kenma sent him a selfie where he could see half of his friend’s face, his cheeks slightly flushed and his hair sticking to his forehead and temples, probably because of the sweat. His expression doesn’t seem that different from usual, but Kuroo knows him well enough to see the pain in his eyes, and that alone makes him want to laugh again. Kenma is sitting in the grass, and right behind him stands Megumi, posing like a champion, a volleyball between her tiny hands. She’s wearing light sport clothes and Kuroo has half a mind to worry if she’s not cold, but he can’t really focus on anything other than Megumi’s smile, wide and happy, like her smile always is when she’s playing volleyball. A wave of affection passes through him and Kuroo can feel his heart swell at the sight of his daughter.

> **_kuroo:_ **you look dead inside lmao
> 
> **_kuroo:_ **i miss her so much tell her i love her
> 
> **_kenma:_ **dont be dramatic youll see her tonight
> 
> **_kenma:_ **next time she wants to play volleyball shell have to wait till shouyou gets back.

Kuroo snickers at Kenma’s weak attempt to convince himself, they both perfectly know it will never happen. If there’s someone who spoils the little girl even more than Kuroo himself, it has to be Kenma. Kuroo knows just how much Kenma loves Megumi, and he knows even more how hard it is to say no to her, so the next time she’ll want to play volleyball with her uncle Kenma, she’ll just have to ask with her shiny eyes and her big smile, and she’ll get exactly what she wants. 

They chat for a bit after that, Kenma finally manages to get Megumi to go back inside the house and imagining Kenma’s relieved face is enough to make Kuroo laugh again. He’s informed that Megumi learned some new moves at her volleyball club that day, and she’s very excited to show them to her dad. His smile softens again when he tells Kenma he can’t wait to see that.

Eventually, Kenma tells him to ‘stop being useless and get back to work’, and Kuroo obliges. Planning his lessons seems a little less impossible now that he saw the bright smile of his daughter. He puts his phone away in his pocket, knowing it’ll distract him again if he can see it, and gets back to work. When his eyes set on the pile of papers, he feels the soft stare of Nakazawa on him. He looks up and meets her gaze, his smile easy, just in time to see her going back to her work once again. He does the same, and they work in the comfortable silence of the teacher’s room.

An hour later, it’s finally time for Kuroo to leave, and he starts packing his things with a relieved sigh. It earns him another chuckle from his colleague as she’s preparing to head home too. 

“Rough day?”

“You could say that, I couldn’t focus at all.”

She giggles at that and adds playfully, “Yeah, I noticed.”

They finish packing their things while chatting and leave the room together, laughing and talking about their day. They walk in the hallways together as they continue their conversation, and Kuroo laughs out loud at what Nakazawa is saying. They pass before a group of students cleaning up for their club and they say goodbye to them, one of the girls enthusiastically waving at Kuroo when she sees him.

“One of your students?” 

“Yeah, she’s been in my class for two years now, she’s not the best at chemistry but she’s always trying her best,” Kuroo says with a soft smile, remembering all the times the teenager came to him for advice, or when he saw her seeking help from one of the best students in school. “She’s a good kid.”

“Your students always love you so much, I’m kinda jealous.” Kuroo looks curiously at her, she sighs and rearranges her glasses on her nose, “I wish they could be that interested in english.” 

Kuroo chuckles quietly, Nakazawa is a small, chubby woman with a lot of energy and a loud, infectious laugh. She’s around twenty years older than him, but she’s without doubt the person he’s the closest to at work, and seeing her every day is a delight. She’s funny, caring and very liked, both by the other teachers and the students. 

“Well, they probably won’t end up being as passionate about english as you are, but at least they’ll like it a bit better if you’re the one teaching them.”

Nakazawa elbows him quite roughly in the ribs, laughing again, “You’re a good kid too!” She looks at him and something changes in her eyes, something Kuroo knows way too well. “So, what are you doing tonight?”

“Nothing much, I’ll go pick up Megumi and then we’ll just head home. Why?” he asks, knowing exactly what’s coming next.

" _Or_ you could go on a date! I’m sure my niece would love to go on a date with you if you’d only say yes, I can even call her right now if you want!” 

Kuroo rolls his eyes and smiles affectionately at his friend, “Thank you for caring so much about my love life, but I’m not gonna date Mika-chan, she has a boyfriend.”

“And I don’t like him, I’ve always said you’d make a better boyfriend than Daishou!”

“Yeah you’re probably right, I’m pretty sure I’m better than Daishou at almost everything,” he laughs and then looks at Nakazawa. She’s almost pouting, like she still expects him to say yes some day, even though she’s been asking the same thing regularly for months now and every time Kuroo has said no. “But if Mika is happy with him, he can’t be that bad, right?”

She huffs and starts walking faster, making Kuroo laugh again, “I still don’t like him, and you know I’m gonna ask you again! Just wait!”

They walk together to the train station before going their separate ways, Nakazawa cheerfully waving at him until she can’t see him anymore. Just like he has done for the past few years, Kuroo wonders if he’ll ever see her in a bad mood, she always seems to cheer everyone up by her presence alone, but Kuroo hopes if she ever feels down herself, she’ll let him be there for her.

Kuroo takes his phone out of his pocket where it has been resting for the past hour, and raises an eyebrow at the unusual amount of new messages. He opens the most recent one, snorts a bit and then types a quick reply.

> **_mika-chan:_ **sorry about my aunt i should have guessed she was going to try to ask u out for me again 
> 
> **_kuroo:_ **wouldn’t happen if you had better taste in men ;)

He then opens his chat with Kenma, still keeping an eye on his surroundings, because missing his train is one of the last things he wants to do. 

> **_kenma:_ **youre staying for dinner
> 
> **_kenma:_ **buy pizza on the way ive already said yes to megumi

His train approaching forces him to pocket his phone without replying to Kenma, not letting him check his other messages. He gets on the train and sighs at how crowded it is, even though it’s nothing surprising during the rush hour, he elbows his way through the crowd and finds a spot to spend the ride. Thankfully, his stop isn’t very far away, and he doesn’t even take the time to get his phone out and read the rest of his messages.

He leans against the cool wall of the train and smiles to himself, almost closing his eyes. It might be exhausting, but Kuroo loves his job and wouldn’t change it for anything in the world. He loves being a teacher and he loves seeing the spark in his students’ eyes when they understand a particularly difficult concept, or when their grades finally match the amount of efforts they made through the year. It may be a bit selfish, but he loves seeing the grateful look on their faces when they talk to him, it makes him feel accomplished, needed, loved even. He loves his colleagues and he loves his students, graduation day is a real hardship every year, and even though Kenma would call him a nerd for thinking that, talking about chemistry all day is truly what he loves to do in his life. He loves all of this, but his favorite part of the day is about to come, it’s the exact moment he’ll step into Kenma’s house and Megumi will start running towards him, throwing herself into his arms in the biggest, tightest hug a tiny 5 years old is able to give. The happiness he feels in moments like this, under the discreet yet loving gaze of his best friend, with his daughter’s laugh melting his heart, is unmatched.

The crowd pressing around him, trying to get out of the train, cuts off his daydreaming and a quick look around informs him that it’s finally his stop. Once out of the train, he replies to Kenma, telling him that he’s coming with the pizzas, before checking the other unopened messages he has.

> **_hinata:_ **kuroo!!!! pls buy meatball pizza!!!!
> 
> **_hinata:_ **hurry up we’re starving!!!

> **_mika-chan:_ **wouldnt happen if ur love life wasnt dead!!! 

He laughs at his phone before walking towards the nearest pizza place he knows. He can’t wait to finally get to the best part of his day, even though he knows if Hinata is here, he most likely will have to skip the hug part, since Megumi probably won’t let her uncle breathe at all, but getting to spend the evening with all of them will more than make up for it.

* * *

The first thing he hears when he opens the door is laughter, then loud stomping noises right before the undoubted sound of glass crashing on the ground. The first thing he sees is Kenma’s annoyed face when he hears the sound too and this face is exactly what makes Kuroo join the laughter. 

He follows Kenma in the kitchen with the pizzas and watches him opening every box with an amused smile.

“I thought Shrimpy wasn’t supposed to come back to Tokyo for another three days?”

“How do you know Shouyou is home?” Kenma opens another box and stares at it for a second. “Oh. Meatball.” 

Kuroo snorts, “That, and I’m also pretty sure he’s the one who broke something in your living room.”

“Something got cancelled so he wanted to surprise me.” Kenma smiles softly, in the way he only does when he’s looking at Hinata, or talking about him, but his smile quickly turns into a disgusted face. “Ugh Kuro. You know I hate tuna pizza.”

Kuroo opens his mouth to tell Kenma how broken his taste buds must be, but he’s interrupted by Hinata coming back to the kitchen, an excited Megumi bouncing on his shoulders. Her already dazzling expression brightens even more when her eyes fall on Kuroo, she starts pulling on Hinata’s hair like she’s trying to direct him the way she wants to go.

“Daddy! Do you see that? Uncle Shouyou is home!” she says loudly.

Kuroo chuckles and his expression softens immediately. Seeing her like this, excited and beaming with joy, he decides, is even better than getting to hold her close. “I know sweetheart, I know. I hope you let Uncle Kenma say hi to him before hogging him.”

“She didn’t.” Kenma informs him, “She abandoned everything we were doing as soon as he stepped inside.” His voice is as flat as ever but not annoyed in the slightest. 

Megumi laughs again, apparently proud to get in the way of her uncles’ reunion before Hinata declares they’re having dinner in the living room. He then steps out of the kitchen, happily letting Megumi guide him as she pleases, and Kuroo helps Kenma carrying the pizzas and drinks. 

They sit on the floor, around the coffee table, and surprisingly, Megumi comes to sit next to Kuroo and snuggles with him a bit. But her energy has her moving again and she soon starts excitedly going back and forth between Kenma and Kuroo to get a bit of their food while Hinata tells them about his team and the match they played in Miyagi. 

“It was awesome! Everyone came to cheer on us and they even got Tsukishima to show up! But I think he argued with Kageyama most of the match…” Hinata suddenly seems deep in thoughts, he furrows his brow, probably trying to remember if his friends were paying attention during the match.

“Kageyama is too single-minded to be distracted when volleyball is involved,” Kenma says to interrupt Hinata’s thoughts. Hinata looks at his boyfriend, surprised, and Kenma smiles softly at him, “Even more so if you’re on the court.”

“Who is Tsukishima?” Megumi asks, spitting pizza on the floor in the process. 

Instinctively, Kuroo grabs a napkin and cleans her face. “Megumi, don’t speak with your mouth full,” he tells her in what Kenma calls his dad voice. She scrunches her face when he insists on her cheek with the napkin, trying to remove a resistant patch of tomato sauce. She mumbles something that roughly sounds like ‘Sorry Daddy’ and Kuroo finally lets her go.

“Tsukishima is one of my friends from high school!” Hinata announces proudly.

“The scary one?” Megumi tilts her head to the side, genuine curiosity in her deep, shiny black eyes.

“No! The scary one is Kageyama!” Hinata laughs and then tells her, his voice almost a whisper, “Tsukishima is even scarier…”

She yelps in surprise and Kuroo laughs, but still feels sorry for Kageyama if he’s the scariest person Megumi can think of. He ruffles her hair affectionately and she immediately forgets about feeling surprised, too busy trying to escape her dad. 

“Tsukki isn’t _that_ scary,” Kuroo laughs when he sees Megumi trying to flatten her hair on her head. Sadly, she inherited Kuroo’s unruly hair and can’t seem to do what she wants with it, Kuroo can’t wait for her to be a teenager and realize the damage this bed head can do in high school. She stops and looks expectantly at him, waiting for him to elaborate. “And he likes dinosaurs,” he adds with a proud smirk.

Instantly, Megumi forgets everything else, about Tsukishima being scary or her dad messing up her hair, and Kuroo can see the stars in her eyes. “Really?” she asks with a voice full of hope and joy. Kuroo only folds his arms and nods, and it’s all it takes for Megumi to stand up and run towards Hinata. She starts tugging at his shirt, jumping up and down, yelling into his ears a few variations of ‘I wanna meet him’ and ‘Tell me about him’.

And Hinata obliges, always happy to talk about his friends. He shows her pictures, excitedly tells her about all the matches they played in high school, including the ones against Nekoma and Kenma and Kuroo join the conversation at that. Eventually, the conversation drifts to Hinata’s current team and Megumi asks him so many questions Kuroo has a hard time keeping track.

“The last match of the season is next week right?” Kuroo asks.

Hinata’s face seems to lighten up even more, “Oh, yeah!” He suddenly stands up, leaving a disappointed Megumi behind. He flashes her a knowing smile and jogs out of the living room. Kuroo can hear him rummage through his bags, still scattered in the entrance, and in less than two minutes he’s back with them, hiding something behind his back. He kneels down before Megumi and the little girl looks at him, a confused look on her face. “Speaking of this, I got you something in Miyagi,” Hinata tells her.

Her whole face lightens up and she almost yells, “For me?!” She tries to look behind his back but Kenma scolds her gently, she obediently tries to stay still for a whole second before going back to her excited self. “Uncle Shouyou,” she whines, drawing out his name, “I wanna seeee!”

Hinata laughs, and he almost seems calm next to her. “Alright alright, so let’s say it’s an early birthday present okay?” She nods enthusiastically at him and stretches out her arms for Hinata to give her her present. He puts in her tiny hands two pieces of paper and she looks at it from all sides. She looks up at him, confusion written all over her face, and asks, “What is it?”

“Two tickets for our match next week!” Hinata almost yells, as excited about giving this to Megumi as she is to get it. Her smile widens immediately and with the two of them smiling like that, Kenma and Kuroo almost feel like they’re looking directly at the sun.

“But you said it was all sold out! I thought—” she starts before trailing off, too focused on the tickets in her hands to even finish. Hinata throw himself at her, hugging her tight against his chest and she yelps, trying to protect her precious tickets. He kisses the top of her head and then ruffles her hair, and when _he_ does it, she doesn’t complain. 

“I know I’m sorry Megumi! I really wanted to surprise you I’m sorry I lied!” He hugs her again but she quickly escapes his arms and runs towards Kuroo. She hands out the tickets to him and Kuroo is pretty sure he can see her glowing aura. 

“You’ll come with me right daddy?!”

Kuroo raises an eyebrow at her but his smile is incredibly fond, “Mmmh I don’t know, I haven’t made my mind yet.”

“Please please please pleaaase,” she puts her hands in a praying pose and starts bouncing, “I’ll be good! I’ll even clean my room I promise!” 

He flicks her foreheard gently, “Yeah that’d be great, I’d love to come into your room without stumbling on your toys.” She starts pouting and he laughs, he pinches her cheek and she tries to smack his hand away. “Sure honey, I’ll come with you.”

She starts running and laughing all around them and almost trips on the pizza boxes, but Kuroo doesn’t feel like telling her to calm down when she’s so excited. She literally jumps on Hinata, thanking him over and over, and he catches her with ease, as excited as her.

“Daddy! We’re going to watch them!” she yells in his direction, “Uncle Shouyou is gonna play!” She seems to realize something and opens her eyes wide before pressing the palms of her hands on Hinata’s cheeks. She presses on his face, making him look like a very orange fish, and almost headbutts him when she comes closer to his face. Kuroo hears Kenma laugh at the scene and Megumi shoots in Hinata’s face, “Bokuto is gonna play too right?”

Hinata mumbles a muffled ‘Yeah’ and when Megumi starts vibrating with excitement, Kuroo thinks faintly that if she doesn’t run out of energy soon, it’ll be impossible to put her to bed later.

She hogs the conversation, and the three men gladly let her, she talks about how happy she is, and how excited she is, and soon enough Bokuto is all she’s talking about. She praises him and Hinata joins her. Kuroo looks at them and thinks that they look like two kids, two kids who love volleyball a lot, and apparently Bokuto too.

“His spikes are so—” Megumi starts, “It’s so— the way he—” she tries to speak with her hands since she can’t seem to find her way with words, but Hinata interrupts her. “I know! He’s so _gwahh!_ ”

“YES!” she yells, and they both start laughing again.

“We finally found someone who speaks his language,” Kuroo tells kenma, an amused smile on his lips.

“He already had Kageyama, now it’s getting out of hand.” 

Eventually, Megumi does run out of energy, and she falls asleep on the couch, curled up against Hinata’s side, her dark skin contrasting with his. Kenma gets up in silence to take a few pictures, Hinata doing a peace sign when he notices his boyfriend, and Kuroo sighs fondly at the scene. He picks up some of the boxes and brings them to the kitchen, enjoying the comfortable silence that comes when Megumi finally goes to sleep. Kenma silently follows him and watches him put the leftovers into the fridge and clean everything up while he looks at the pictures he just took. At this point, it has become so natural for Kuroo to act like Kenma’s home is his own that none of them questions it.

Eventually, Kenma breaks the silence first, but his gaze is still focused on his phone, “You okay?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Kuroo asks without stopping what he’s doing. He spares Kenma a glance but the other doesn’t even acknowledge him.

“Nothing,” he looks up and stares at Kuroo, and it’s the gaze that makes Kuroo feel like he’s trying to read his soul. “You’re just acting weird when it comes to Bokuto,” Kenma says simply.

“It’s not _weird_ to worry about how reuniting with someone you haven’t seen in years will go!” Kuroo defends himself.

“People are usually happy to see old friends again,” Kenma points out.

“I _am_ happy, I’m just worried it’ll be… weird, I guess.” 

Kenma just shrugs and turns around, and for a second Kuroo thinks the conversation is over, but Kenma adds, “Don’t overthink this, it’s just Bokuto.”

“Yeah, right. Just Bokuto,” Kuroo sighs.

* * *

“The problem is _exactly_ that it’s Bokuto!” 

" _Why_ are you calling me instead of getting ready,” Kenma asks, clearly annoyed, and even through the phone Kuroo can perfectly imagine what kind of face he’s making.

“Lovely to talk to you too, Kenma,” Kuroo says sarcastically.

“Shut up,” he hears Kenma say in the same annoyed voice. “What's the problem with Bokuto?” he adds after a second, his voice slightly softer, and Kuroo smiles because despite everything he knows Kenma always listens to him.

“It’s just… you know I really cared about him and he was one of my best friends! And then… I don’t know it felt so…” Kuroo starts, moving his free hand to help him find the right words, “so _rushed_. Like, we didn’t fight, and we were still seeing each other and then he suddenly left for London and we just… drifted apart.” 

When he’s faced with no answer, Kuroo checks his phone to see if Kenma didn’t hang up on him, but as soon as he moves the phone away from his ear, he hears his best friend’s voice and quickly puts it back. “Are you mad at him? For leaving?”

“What? No! Of course I’m not mad,” Kuroo says, because if there’s one thing he’s sure of, it’s that he’d never be mad at his friends for pursuing their dreams. “I just wished we could have stayed close, that’s all…”

Kenma hums on the other side of the phone, but his voice is covered by Megumi’s steps. She comes in Kuroo’s room, already wearing her Bokuto jersey and seems ready to jump into the car at any moment. “Daddy I wanna go already!” she complains.

“In a second sweetheart, Daddy is on the phone okay?” he tells her sweetly, and she pouts but still leaves him alone in his room.

“Sorry about that,” he tells Kenma.

“It’s fine,” he says and pauses again. “Kuro, if you miss him you just have to go and talk to him, and… be friends again, I guess.” Kuroo smiles faintly, because Kenma trying to actually give advice, with words instead of pointed looks, without sounding awkward is rare, and it’s as precious as it is funny to him.

“But what if he doesn’t want to? What if we changed and don’t get along anymore?”

“You haven’t changed much, you just take yourself even more for a dad than before,” Kenma says dryly.

“Well, I _am_ a dad.”

“Doesn’t mean you won’t start doing dumb shit with Bokuto again as soon as you’ll see him.” Kenma sighs, like the thought alone makes him tired, “Actually I don’t know if I should tell you to get back in touch with him, I’m too old to deal with this again. I don’t even have Akaashi this time.”

Kuroo laughs at that, loud and ugly, because he remembers perfectly how tired Akaashi and Kenma were with them in high school, with _him_ specifically since Bokuto always had this weird charm attached to him that prevented everyone from being truly mad at him. He takes a moment to calm down and retorts with a snort, “You talk like Akaashi is dead!”

“He’s not, but I’ll be if you start hanging out with Bokuto again.”

Kuroo hears Megumi telling him to hurry up from the living room, and apparently Kenma hears it too. “You should get going,” he says, a special kind of softness in his voice reserved for the little girl. He pauses again and finally adds, “He hasn’t changed much either, it’s still just Bokuto, you two will be fine.”

They finally hang up, Megumi growing more impatient with every second. Kuroo takes her hand and together they go to the car, Megumi happily babbling about the match. She asks him at least ten times on the way if they’re going to stay to get an autograph, and every time Kuroo says yes she becomes a ball of excitement.

When Kuroo sits behind the steering wheel, he thinks about Kenma’s words. _It’s still just Bokuto,_ and somehow, it’s enough to calm him down.

* * *

The match is even better than what Kuroo expected, and it doesn’t take long for him to lose himself in the fiery, invigorating atmosphere surrounding him. Megumi is, as expected, even more pumped up than him, screaming and cheering so loudly that Kuroo worries she’s going to have a sore throat later. But the thought doesn’t seem to reach the little girl, jumping on her seat when Bokuto scores a really impressive point. He cheers, and everyone cheers with him, completely wrapped up in his energy.

Sometimes, she asks Kuroo questions, when she doesn’t really understand what is happening, or when things are moving too fast and she gets lost. Kuroo is always happy to answer, and sometimes, he tries to predict the next action. He gets it wrong most of the time, but when he doesn’t, Megumi looks at him like he’s the smartest person ever.

Coincidentally enough, their seats are right next to those of men that can’t be anything other than part of Bokuto’s fan club. They scream louder than anyone else in the public, save for a very specific kind of people here, to the point that Kuroo is even worried about _their_ future sore throats. Megumi looks at them with envy, and at some point during the second set, one of the men notices her and her Bokuto jersey. He’s the one yelling into the megaphone so Kuroo assumes he must be their leader, and Megumi looks like she’d love to do it. He carefully watches the man starting to speak to her, and Megumi seems really happy to talk with him so he doesn’t interfere, but he’s still wary, watching closely the conversation. But the man doesn’t seem suspicious, he talks cheerfully about Bokuto with her, and sometimes he talks to Kuroo too. It’s amazing, how a 5 years old girl manages to hold a conversation about her idol while paying attention to the match. They take turns, talking and then cheering loudly at what happens on the court. Megumi’s bob cut moves with every jump she makes on her seat, and there are a lot of them, and Kuroo smiles softly. At some point, Hinata serves an ace and Megumi yells an ‘Uncle Shouyou’ that earns her a curious look from the man next to her.

“Uncle Shouyou?” he asks the little girl.

“Ah… We’re Hinata’s family,” Kuroo answers him, an amused smile on his lips as he watches his eyes go wide.

“Wait— You’re Hinata’s family? Like _the_ Hinata Shouyou’s family?!” 

“He’s my uncle!” Megumi says proudly.

“Man… You’re telling me you’re _Hinata Shouyou_ ’s niece and you’re still wearing a Bokuto jersey?” he asks incredulously. Megumi only smile wider at him and Kuroo laughs, “She’s a hardcore fan you know.”

“That’s _awesome_! You gotta find Bokuto and tell him after the match, he’s gonna fuc—” Kuroo clears his throat loudly and throws a glare at the man. He looks sheepish for a second and stutters, “I—I mean… he’s gonna love it!”

“You think so?” Megumi asks, her eyes full of hope and joy at the thought that Bokuto could love something she does.

“Yeah!” the man exclaims, and he raises his hand for a high five. She meets him happily and they laugh together. Kuroo watches this weird friendship between a little girl and a fan club leader unfold before his eyes with a familiar tenderness pulling at his heartstrings.

The rest of the match goes smoothly, Kuroo joins more and more the conversation, and he ends up having a long discussion with the man about the team’s dynamic, they both agree that it’s one of their best seasons, and that Bokuto joining them is clearly part of why. He complements the rest of the team almost amazingly, so much that nobody would guess it’s his first season with them. Megumi tries to take part in the conversation too, but she mainly retains that Bokuto is amazing, and it seems to be enough for her.

When it’s time for the last set of the match, the conversation dies down, the tension around them almost tangible. They cheer and stand up yelling, they groan in frustration with the players on the court when the opposite team scores, and it’s honestly one of the best matches Kuroo has ever seen. He hears Megumi mutter something that sounds like ‘The setter is really cool’ and Kuroo can’t help but smirk, because Megumi usually only look at the offensive side of the game, she loves powerful attacks and impressive spikes, she looks at loud and showy players and dreams of being the ace of her team one day. Kuroo loves that about her, her enthusiasm and the look in her eyes when the ball hits the ground, but he also loves seeing her slowly learning to love other aspects of the game, because there’s so much more to volleyball than that, and he wants Megumi to love every part of the sport.

Their team ends up winning, and the audience roars even louder, Kuroo included. Megumi and her new friend give each other another high five, delighted, and Kuroo looks away for a second to watch the players on the court. They all gather around Bokuto, hugging him and slapping him on the back. Some laugh and ruffle his hair, and he can see Hinata jumping behind him, ecstatic. Most of all, everyone gravitate towards him, and even from across the stadium, Kuroo can actually feel his presence.

Megumi pulls on his sleeve to grab his attention, he looks at her and she points excitedly at the team walking towards them. They line up and bow while everyone claps loudly, shooting some of the players’ names. There are quite a few _Hinata_ and _Ninja Shouyou_ that make the small man look proud, but Kuroo sees his face light up when Megumi starts yelling ‘Uncle Shouyou’, he searches for her in the crowd and when he finds her, he grins brightly. Bokuto’s fan club shoots his name next to them, and they’re doing a great job at being loud, but even them can’t seem to beat the most dedicated fans in the crowd. They cheer and try to get closer to their favorite setter, and just like every time it happens, Kuroo starts to wonder if Oikawa is a professional volleyball player or some very popular idol.

Without warning, Megumi starts moving too, determined to get her own autograph from Bokuto before other people surround him. Kuroo tries to hold her back, but her speed and small body allow her to navigate through the mass of people way easier than Kuroo who is taller and broader than almost everyone around him. Kuroo chases her, pushing past people on his way and apologizing, he still sees Megumi through the crowd of people but he’s starting to lose sight of her. 

Kuroo feels his heart beat faster and faster, panic rising in his chest, because he can’t help but imagine the worst. He pushes harder and actually manages to move forward, even if it earns him a few complains of his way. He apologizes by reflex but doesn’t really care, too focused on trying to find his daughter. Finally, he sees her again, and he wonders how she managed to do that in such a small amount of time, but she’s standing right before Bokuto, basically radiating joy as she seems to talk to him.

He’s still pretty far away from them, but he calms down when he realizes Megumi is safe. He walks more carefully, trying not to bother people too much and gets close enough to hear what they’re saying, but far enough not to be seen yet.

“You’re _sure_ your dad is around right?” Bokuto asks as he takes the pen Megumi is handing him.

“I promise! I know he’s coming! Now can you sign my jersey please?” she asks with a pleading smile, and Kuroo rolls his eyes at how unconcerned she is about his disappearance.

“Okay, okay,” Bokuto laughs, loud and clear, “what’s your name?”

“Kuroo Megumi!” she answers.

“Kuroo?” Bokuto repeats, his voice not as loud as it usually is, golden eyes curious but a bit unfocused, like he’s losing himself in a long forgotten memory. He looks like he’s testing the name on his tongue, and for Kuroo too, hearing Bokuto say his name again after so long, might feel a little weird, but it mostly feels familiar. _It’s still just Bokuto,_ Kuroo remembers, and even though he hasn’t actually talked to him yet, he can’t remember anymore what has held him back for so long, because now that he sees Bokuto, right before his eyes, he knows this can’t go bad. He takes a step closer to where Bokuto and Megumi are standing, pushing past the last few people still in the way until he’s standing next to his daughter, Bokuto still focused on her. 

“Yeah, Kuroo,” he reaffirms, a lopsided grin on his face, as Bokuto looks up at him with wide eyes.

“Daddy!” Megumi exclaims, then she turns back to Bokuto, “See, I told you he was coming!”

She sounds awfully proud of herself, and Kuroo frowns, giving her a light tap on the top of her head. “Don’t start running out of nowhere, I was worried.”

She mumbles something that roughly sounds like ‘I’m sorry’ and Kuroo lets it slide for now, but he knows he’ll need to talk to her about it later, because that was definitely not safe and Kuroo isn’t sure his heart could handle that a second time. He looks at Bokuto again, who’s still staring at him, mouth agape, and Kuroo can’t help the smirk forming on his lips. “Man, you’re way quieter than I remembered.”

This seems to snap Bokuto out of his state of shock, he looks at Kuroo and starts smiling, broad and genuine, but still a little confused. “Kuroo! Is that really you?! Are you—” he starts, looking back and forth between Megumi and him, “Are you really—”

Kuroo laughs and decides to take pity on him, he puts his hand on Megumi’s head and ruffles her hair gently, just to see her complain. “The man himself, and this is my daughter, Megumi, but I guess you've already met her.” Bokuto looks at Megumi and his eyes widen again, he opens and closes his mouth a few times and Kuroo just laughs. His teasing smile softens into something more genuine. “It’s been a long time.”

“Shit— I’m sorry, I didn’t know you had a daughter and she—” Bokuto bends down to get a closer look at Megumi’s face, and she looks like it’s the best day of her life. “Dude she looks so much like you!” Bokuto basically yells. He looks up at him and his smile turns into something amused. “Your hair is still a mess.”

“At least I don’t style it that way!” he bites back, but there’s no heat behind the words.

People are still pressing around them and Kuroo takes Megumi’s hand and holds it tight to make sure they won’t get separated again. The crowd is still demanding Bokuto’s attention, and someone from the staff seems to notice it. She comes towards them and says something to Bokuto that Kuroo doesn’t catch, Bokuto nods in understanding and looks apologetically at him.

“I’m sorry Kuroo I have to huh— you know, do… stuff,” he vaguely gestures at the crowd behind Kuroo, and Kuroo sees the woman still eyeing them from apart. “But we totally should meet up or something, it’s been so long!” Bokuto’s smile is large and warm, it’s the same smile Kuroo has seen him wear since he’s met him. It’s just Bokuto looking at him, broad shoulders, golden eyes and a smile made of sunshine, and everything feels so familiar that Kuroo almost expect to turn around and see the rest of Fukurodani and Nekoma getting ready for a practice match. Bokuto gropes at his uniform, apparently searching for something, when he looks at Kuroo again, he seems a bit defeated. “But I don’t have anything on me to write your number down…”

“Hinata has my number, just ask him when you see him and text me later, okay?” Kuroo says, and Bokuto looks at him with these owlish eyes that Kuroo has always found endearing.

“You’re a _genius,_ ” he says, and Kuroo laughs because he knows he means it. “Yeah okay, I’ll definitely do that!” He crouches down before Megumi and smiles gently at her, “I have to go now, but it was great talking to you, you’re awesome!” He raises his fist and Megumi happily bumps it with her own. He then gets up and looks at Kuroo again, “I’ll text you later then, thank you for coming.”

The staff lady seems to lose patience and comes to talk to Bokuto again, he follows her and leaves with a last wave of the hand. Kuroo watches him go talk to other people, sign other jerseys and laugh and beam at all the praise he’s getting until he feels Megumi tugging his hand. Carefully, they make their way through the crowd, Megumi more focused the memory of Bokuto than where she’s walking. They manage to reach the car, Megumi still excitedly looking at her autograph and her hand where Bokuto touched her, talking about her favorite player and the match they just saw. When Kuroo sits behind the steering wheel, he catches a glance of Megumi in the rear-view mirror, vibrating in her seat, sheer curiosity painted all over her face.

“Say Daddy, you’re really friends with Bokuto? Like really really friends? I can see him again then?”

Kuroo laughs at her enthusiasm and starts the car, he considers her question for a second and remembers Bokuto’s warm eyes and broad smile, he sighs softly, “I guess you could say that.”

* * *

Kuroo plops down on the couch and can hear his back cracking, he groans and shifts to find a better position, a little voice in the back of his head that sounds suspiciously like Kenma calling him an old man. He searches for his phone between the cushions where he carelessly tossed it when they came back home from the match, more than an hour ago. At the time, Kuroo was tired, but he didn’t think putting an overly excited Megumi to bed would be that exhausting. He should have expected it though, seeing how excited she was on the way back. When he unlocks his phone and see a bunch of new messages from an unknown number, a lazy smile instantly spreads across his face. He didn’t expect Bokuto to text him so soon, but knowing that Bokuto was apparently as eager as him to catch up pleases him.

> **_unknown:_ **hey hey hey!!!
> 
> **_unknown:_ **its bokuto!! i know its late i hope ur not sleeping already but i rly wanted to text u
> 
> **_unknown:_ **i didnt know u were coming i was so shocked to see u!! sorry i couldnt stay longer tho :((

Kuroo snickers and quickly saves Bokuto’s number before replying.

> **_kuroo:_ **aw you already miss me it’s cute
> 
> **_kuroo:_ **and don’t worry megumi made sure i wasn’t sleeping
> 
> **_bokuto:_ **dude ofc i miss u
> 
> **_bokuto:_ **i mean like srsly ive rly missed u and like maybe i was a bit awkward earlier bc i was so shocked but i wanted to text u right away bc i miss u!!
> 
> **_bokuto:_ **also ur daughter is so cute i cant believe she has ur genes
> 
> **_kuroo:_ **i’ve missed you too
> 
> **_kuroo:_ **and fuck you i’m really cute

Kuroo easily falls back into their banter, and it honestly feels like it never really stopped. He texts Bokuto like they’ve seen each other for the last time only a few weeks ago instead of a few years, and he knows that even though they drifted apart, there is a place for Bokuto in his life right now. And his doubts about not getting along, about Bokuto not wanting him in his life anymore suddenly seem unfounded, because Bokuto is currently lying in his bed, probably exhausted from the match, but he’s still texting Kuroo like he always did when they were younger.

In the myriad of texts from Bokuto, he sees another notification and opens Kenma’s message with a soft smile. His friend has always seemed to be omniscient.

> **_kenma:_ **so?
> 
> **_kuroo:_ **i guess you were right
> 
> **_kenma:_ **good
> 
> **_kenma:_ **shouyou says hes really happy you two are friends again

Kuroo looks at his phone and loses himself in his thoughts for a moment, Bokuto still texting him about his day. It’s kind of weird, Bokuto telling him what he had for lunch and what happened in the locker room before the match instead of what he’s been up to the last seven years they haven’t seen each other, or Kuroo talking about his back hurting but not explaining anything about his daughter, even though it’s without a doubt the most important thing in his life. It’s unusual, but it feels familiar and warm, how easily Bokuto fits into his life even after all this time.

> **_kuroo:_ **you think it’s weird if i say i think we never stopped being friends?
> 
> **_kenma:_ **no but its sappy
> 
> **_kenma:_ **its fine tho, bokuto is a sap too

Kuroo laughs and closes his eyes, he can live with that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for reading this all the way!  
> this fic is very dear to me, i've wanted to write it for a long time, but i didn't think i'd actually do it, let alone post it. so i hope you've liked reading my very self indulgent bokuroo fic as much as i like writing it!!  
> roughly i'd say the fic is going to be around 20 chapters long, but nothing sure yet! i'll try to update it as often as possible
> 
> once again, thank you so much for reading this, comments are more than welcomed and please come talk to me about bokuroo and/or hq on [twitter](https://twitter.com/martialarcs), i love them to death and i desperately need more people to scream about them with me!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you're still reading thank you and i hope you'll enjoy this chapter ❤

“No,” Kuroo deadpans, his arms folded. Megumi looks up at him with teary eyes, but he knows her well enough to recognize her fake tears when he sees them. 

“But Uncle Kenma always lets me buy both…” she whines, and Kuroo only sighs.

“Too bad you’re not shopping with him then.” Megumi starts to pout and Kuroo crouches down before her, he boops her nose gently and smiles when his eyes meet hers. “Hey, you can buy one today and the other next time.”

“But what if I want to eat one today and the other tomorrow?”

“We already have too many snacks at home, I’m sure you’ll find something you like.” The little girl doesn’t seem that convinced by Kuroo’s argument, she hugs her chocolate bar tighter against her chest and Kuroo starts to wonder if she’ll let go before it starts melting. He hopes she will, because he clearly doesn’t want to deal with a chocolate stained dress. “Megumi, you have to choose, it’s either the chocolate bar or the candies, but I won’t buy both.” His voice is still gentle, but just firm enough for Megumi to know he won’t fold. And apparently it works pretty well, she’s still pouting, but she puts the chocolate bar back on the shelves, and Kuroo is relieved to see there’s no stain on her dress.

He smiles at her, encouraging and proud, and she returns the smile, albeit a bit pouty. He kisses the top of her head, a habit he’s developed early on when she came into his life, and he hopes she won’t ever grow out of it, but for now, she seems a bit more cheerful, despite having to leave the chocolate bar behind. Kuroo stands up and offers his hand to her.

“Come on, we still have to pay for this and go home, we don’t want to be late,” he says as she takes his hand. He squeezes it a little, a mischievous grin on his lips. “And I’m sure you can convince Tora to buy you ice cream later.”

She perks up at that, “Really?”

Kuroo chuckles at her hopeful voice and throws her a wink, “I’ll even cheer for you.”

Chocolate bar long forgotten by now, Megumi happily follows him as he heads towards the checkout.

* * *

“They’re late.”

“I think we’re just early,” Kuroo comments, his eyes following Megumi as she runs in the park, playing with a little boy.

Kenma slouches on the bench next to him and vaguely grunts. “There’s a lot of people.”

“That was to be expected, the weather is nice and people love parks.” Kenma only huffs and Kuroo looks at him. He seems pretty fine, annoyed about having to be outside but that’s just a normal thing for Kenma, otherwise Kuroo doesn’t notice anything wrong with him. Still, he knows how he is and when he opens his mouth again, his voice is still laid back, but serious enough for Kenma to know that he just has one word to say and they’ll leave and find a less crowded place to wait for their friends. “You okay?”

“Yeah, don’t worry,” and Kuroo believes him, turning his head to watch over his daughter again. “She’s going to fall,” Kenma says, his voice as flat as ever.

“Have a little faith in her.”

“She fell.” But Megumi is already back on her feet, running once again and laughing with her new friends. Kuroo only sees a patch of dirt on her dress and sighs, apparently this dress couldn’t escape the laundry for very long.

Kuroo feels his phone buzz in his pocket and takes it out, surprised to find out it’s a message from Bokuto. After the match, Golden Week came in the blink of an eye, and Bokuto had to go to his annual family gathering in the countryside. Kuroo wasn’t really surprised to find out how excited Bokuto was for this little vacation, it was the same excitement he used to show every year in high school. Since he’s left Tokyo, Bokuto still texts him regularly, but mostly during the evening, when his many cousins and little cousins and nephews and nieces go to bed and he can finally breathe. Every night, he tells him about his day, what he did and the pranks he pulled on the rest of his family with the kids, or anything that comes to his mind. Kuroo really loves receiving those texts from Bokuto, but he’s still surprised when he sees Bokuto’s name flashing across his screen in the middle of the day. Curious, he opens it and raises an eyebrow at the content.

> **_bokuto:_ **yo are u with kenma rn
> 
> **_kuroo:_ **i have other friends you know
> 
> **_bokuto:_ **yea yea but are u with him
> 
> **_kuroo:_ **...yes

Almost immediately, Kuroo’s phone starts buzzing again, he glances up at Kenma for a second, his friend focused on watching over Megumi, and answers Bokuto’s facetime call, more than a little confused. He’s immediately greeted by one of Bokuto’s brightest smiles. He’s sitting at a table, two kids who seem to be around Megumi’s age sitting in his lap, a slightly older little boy standing on his right. On his left, there’s a teenage girl and right behind her another girl— or woman, she’s wearing a face mask and Kuroo absolutely can’t tell how old she is with the green beauty product covering her face. All of them are looking directly at Kuroo, the little boy obviously disappointed, the two kids almost scared, the face mask woman as confused as him, and the teenage girl with a smile that could compete with Bokuto’s. Kuroo clearly sees the familial resemblance between those two. 

Bokuto opens his mouth to speak, but the little boy beats him at it, talking directly to Kuroo.

“You’re not Kodzuken!” he yells, loud enough that Kenma hears it too and turns his head to look his way. “Koutarou you lied, he’s not Kodzuken!”

“I didn’t lie! He’s Kodzuken’s friend,” Bokuto answers, offended at the thought that he could even lie to someone. “And he’s _with_ Kodzuken.”

Kuroo snorts at Bokuto’s expression, finally understanding what is happening. The sound seems to remind everyone that he’s still here, and Bokuto’s face brightens when he looks at him again. 

“Sorry Kuroo, the kids were talking about Kodzuken and I—”

“ _Kuroo?!_ ” the face mask girl exclaims, apparently realizing something very important. “Oh my god Kou I can’t _believe_ you!” she yells as she storms out of the room, leaving Kuroo once again confused.

Bokuto turns quickly to look at her, one of the kids in his lap almost falling in the process. “Wait, Mei come back!” he yells at her and Kuroo’s eyes widen.

“Mei? That was Mei?” he asks Bokuto, incredulous, “I didn’t recognize her at all!”

“No shit dude, the last time you saw her she was like 14,” Bokuto snickers, he puts his hand on the teenager’s head and says, “And this is Hikaru.”

“Hi Kuroo!” Hikaru says with a bright smile, and now that he knows who she is, he clearly recognizes Bokuto’s sister. Bokuto’s sisters, to be exact, because even though he didn’t clearly see her face, Kuroo doesn’t have a hard time associating the face mask girl with the little Mei he used to see when he was hanging out at Bokuto’s house in high school. 

“Kodzuken!” the little boy complains, tugging at Bokuto’s arm, interrupting the conversation once again.

“Right, right,” Bokuto concedes, lifting the child off the ground with the sole strength of his arm. “Do you think the kids could talk to Kenma for a bit? If that’s okay with him,” he asks Kuroo.

Kuroo looks at Kenma, ready to ask him, but the other man only nods and offers his hand for Kuroo to give him the phone. Kuroo winks at Bokuto with a smile and hands the phone to Kenma, and almost immediately he hears the children gasp and shout in joy. Kenma seems a bit taken aback by their enthusiasm, even though it’s probably nothing surprising coming from Bokuto’s family, but he smiles softly at them, waiting until they stop repeating ‘It’s Kodzuken, it’s really him’ and ‘Koutarou didn’t lie’.

As for Kuroo, he’s only mildly offended to see how much more eager the kids are to talk to Kenma than to him. However, he doesn’t have much time to mourn his unpopularity, Megumi running towards him with a spark in her eyes. She comes to a halt when she’s finally before Kuroo and doesn’t waste any time beating around the bush.

“Daddy, daddy! Akira’s giving kittens, there’s like five of them! Can we get one?” she rises on the tip of her toes, getting closer to Kuroo, while giving him her best puppy eyes. “Pleaaase?” she tries.

The little boy she was playing with earlier —Akira, Kuroo assumes— is intently looking at them from afar, probably waiting for Megumi to come back with an answer. Kuroo sighs and starts petting his daughter’s hair affectionately.

“Sweetheart, pets aren’t toys, you can’t get a kitten just because your friend wants to give you one,” he says with as much softness as he can. Megumi sticks out her bottom lip into a pout, but she doesn’t seem that sad about the situation either, nothing some nice words wouldn’t change. “Plus, if you want to pet a cat, we just have to go to Uncle Kenma’s place right?”

She perks up a bit at his words and he smiles sweetly at her, still petting her hair.

“I like Uncle Kenma’s cats, they’re soft and cute!”

“They like you too,” Kenma says, and Kuroo looks at him, surprised to see he’s not talking to Bokuto and the kids anymore. Kenma’s gaze shifts from Megumi to him and he hands him his phone back, “Bokuto had to go, but he said he’ll call you later.”

“Bokuto? Where is he?” Megumi asks, looking all around herself to see if she can see him, completely forgetting about the kittens or Akira. 

But the exact moment Kuroo opens his mouth to answer her, he hears a loud and familiar laugh, and Kenma and Megumi hear it too, turning their heads in its direction at the same time as Kuroo. He sees Yamamoto, Kai and Yaku walk into the park and hears Kenma breathe out a soft ‘Finally’ as they seem to notice them. Instantly, Megumi starts running towards them.

“Ice cream!” she yells in their direction, and Kuroo bursts out laughing as he stands up and follows Kenma towards their friends.

* * *

“Hey,” Kuroo says as he answers the call, a smile splayed on his face. He cradles the phone between his ear and shoulder, going through the cupboards to find the spice he was looking for.

“Hey, what’re you doing?” Bokuto asks, sounding actually curious about the answer, probably because he can hear Kuroo rummage through his entire kitchen.

“Dinner, but I can’t find— Ah! Got it!” Kuroo says triumphantly and he hears Bokuto laugh at the other end of the line, raucous even through the phone.

Kuroo adds a bit of spice in the pot and stir the food for a bit. He then takes his phone correctly in his hand again and leans against the counter, still keeping an eye on the food.

“So you’re cooking huh?” Bokuto asks, and Kuroo hears the smirk in his voice, “Hope for Megumi it’s edible.”

Kuroo snorts, “I’ll let you know I’m an excellent cook, anyone would be lucky to have me.”

“An excellent cook and a responsible father,” Kuroo can hear that Bokuto is trying to keep up the facade of their banter, but the smirk in his voice sounds now more like a bright grin that threatens to morph into a laugh anytime. He shakes his head in disbelief at Bokuto’s attempt to throw back his words at him from a few nights prior, when Bokuto had called him and asked if Kuroo still made chemical experiments at home, but the only answer he got was Kuroo’s offended ‘I’m a responsible father now’ that had Bokuto wheezing from how much he laughed. But as much as it might make Bokuto laugh, it’s the truth, Kuroo already thinks Megumi ends up meeting with the ground more often than necessary, and he can’t keep her from playing and falling, but he can at least avoid domestic accidents. Bokuto’s voice pulls him from his thoughts and he tries to stop his smile from taking over his face when he hears Bokuto’s giggly voice. “Too bad you have that hair or you’d be like, the perfect husband.”

“Oh I’m _not_ hearing that from you, do you even have any other jokes?” Kuroo says, and Bokuto can’t take it anymore and bursts out laughing. Kuroo rolls his eyes, even though Bokuto can’t see him, but he’s also laughing on his own.

“I do, but that’s an easy one,” Bokuto says once he’s calmed down, and there’s ruffle on the other side of the line. “Bet you have one of these aprons with like, a terrible pun on them, I could make fun of you for _that_.”

“Actually I don’t, but maybe I should buy one…”

There’s more laughter that lands directly in his ear, and Kuroo’s heart aches at how much he’s missed this laugh.

“You just shifted from perfect husband to embarrassing dad,” Bokuto tells him and Kuroo laughs with him. He hears more ruffling and Bokuto lets out a small sound, piquing Kuroo’s curiosity.

“What are you doing?”

“Packing my stuff, we’re leaving tomorrow. Oh actually that’s why I called you,” Kuroo hears him move again, probably making himself comfortable on the bed. He imagines him, splayed on one of the twin beds in the room, he can still picture in his head the bright yellow sheets Bokuto had sent him a picture of the first day of the trip. His limbs are probably dangling off the bed, because judging by how often Kuroo has woken up during the week with a message from Bokuto telling him he fell during the night, these beds are definitely not meant for a grown man built like Bokuto. His side of the room is probably a mess, especially compared to his sister’s side, and he’s definitely lying on some of his clothes. Kuroo finds the image very amusing. “We’re leaving in the morning and when I get home I’m gonna sleep for like— fifteen hours at least, but after that you busy on sunday? We should totally hang out.”

“Yeah I guess I’ve got nothing better to do,” he says, his voice casual, but Kuroo can feel himself grinning at the prospect. “Can Megumi come?”

“Duh,” Bokuto says like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “You bring your daughter with you, and I bring my volleyball, I wanna see how rusty you are.”

Never one to back up from a challenge, Kuroo opens his mouth to retort something, but a feminine voice cuts him off. He hears the voice from a distance, the woman probably yelling across the house, but he still distinctly hears her ‘Koutarou, c’mere and help your dad with the boxes, you’ve got more muscle than him’. He has to put the phone away from his ear when Bokuto yells back a loud ‘Coming’.

“Sorry, I have to go,” Bokuto says at a more sensible volume. “I don’t want my dad to break his back yet.”

Kuroo chuckles, “Yeah, I figured that much.” A soft noise catches his attention and he sees Megumi coming into the kitchen, probably hungry. He smiles at her and her hesitancy seems to fade away at that, she comes closer to her dad, steps more determined, a big smile on her face as she stretches out her arms. Kuroo crouches down and takes her in his arms, with a grunt he stands up and holds Megumi on his hip with the arm that isn’t holding the phone. “I’ll see you on sunday anyway,” he looks at his daughter, calmly waiting for him to hang up in his arms and he smiles fondly, “I can’t wait to tell Megumi.”

“Sweet, I’ll text you when we leave tomorrow.”

There’s more yelling from somewhere in Bokuto’s house, and more yelling from Bokuto himself, directly into Kuroo’s ear, he says goodbye one last time and hurriedly hangs up. Kuroo puts his phone on the counter, shifting a bit to hold Megumi better. She looks at him with a puzzled expression and tilts her head to the side.

“Daddy, where are we going sunday?”

Kuroo kisses the top of her head and lets out a small laugh, “Oh you’re gonna love it.”

* * *

“Daddy! You’re too slow!” Megumi complains as she tugs him along, as energetic as ever.

And Kuroo truly wonders how she can have so much energy left, because she basically hasn’t calmed down once since he’s told her they were going to see Bokuto again. And it’s not that it’s surprising, Kuroo expected her to be overjoyed, but at this point he feels like he’s more tired watching her jump and run than she is doing it. 

He lets her lead the way and watches for a patch of wild hair that definitely stands out in a crowd. They walk for a bit and easily find him, the park they chose isn’t crowded and Kuroo is thankful for that, at least if Megumi manages to run off again, he won’t have a hard time finding her. Kuroo shows her where he saw him, and her eyes immediately light up. They walk faster towards him, and when they’re close enough, Kuroo lets go of Megumi’s hand. She looks up at him and smiles brightly before running towards Bokuto. He seems to hear her coming because he lifts up his head almost immediately, and the quickness of the movement combined with his owlish eyes makes Kuroo snort. He speeds up the pace when Bokuto waves at him from where he is, Megumi totally focused on the volleyball tucked under his arm.

As soon as he reaches them, Megumi looks at him expectantly, almost begging him with her eyes to ask Bokuto to play volleyball _right now_. Instead, Kuroo takes her hand again and squeezes it, a silent request to wait a little bit longer as Bokuto greets them loudly. She seems to get it and looks up at Bokuto with stars in her eyes, letting go of Kuroo’s hand to put them behind her back. At first, Bokuto doesn’t seem to notice the way she stares at him, too busy talking and laughing, but soon enough, he looks at her again and stills for a second. Kuroo knows, better than anyone else, how intense Megumi’s eyes can be sometimes, when she’s looking at something she’s extremely passionate about, usually dinosaurs and volleyball, and Bokuto too, it seems. Bokuto only smiles at her wider, once his initial surprise gone, and crouches down to be at her eye level. He hands her his volleyball with a smile and the little girl beams with joy. She takes it with a care Kuroo has rarely seen in his daughter, she looks at it, then at Bokuto again, sparkling.

“I can hold it?”

“Of course you can!” Bokuto says, still laughing. “We can’t play volleyball if you don’t hold it, right?”

For a moment, Megumi seems confused. She frowns and looks between the ball and Bokuto, before tilting her head to the side and asking, “But you can’t hold the ball in volleyball?”

Bokuto’s smile falls as a quiet “Huh” escapes his lips. He seems taken aback by Megumi’s remark and Kuroo has a hard time keeping his laughter in when he’s faced with the look of pure confusion on Bokuto’s face. “That’s— Huh, yeah you’re right but—”

And Kuroo can’t take it anymore, he throws his head back and laughs at the sky as Bokuto stumbles on his words. He stops his sentence to look at him, and Kuroo is pretty sure he’s trying to look annoyed, but Bokuto can never keep a smile off his face for long. Kuroo notices the way his eyes are glowing with laughter and the slight curve of his lips. 

“You done?” he asks in the most convincing tone he can manage, which is not much, if Kuroo has anything to say about it.

“Yeah, I’m done,” he snorts one last time, before putting a sly grin on his face. He turns his attention back to Megumi, still cradling Bokuto’s volleyball against her chest. “Sweetheart, wanna show Bokuto how well you play volleyball when you don’t hold the ball?”

“And I want Bokuto to spike too!” she exclaims happily. 

“Then I’ll spike!” Bokuto says as his smile returns at full strength. He stands up and pops his joints before looking behind himself. “I saw a place where we could play back there,” he points at the corner of the park. “There’s enough space and there weren't a lot of people when I checked.”

“Let’s go then,” Kuroo says, and as soon as the words leave his mouth Megumi shouts in victory. 

She walks a few steps ahead of them, happily squeezing her volleyball between her hands. She lets it fall on the ground a few times on the way and hastily pick it up, like she’s worried it will get too dirty to play if she doesn’t. Kuroo watches her with a fond smile and, once he’s sure she’s staying close to them, looks at Bokuto once again, still keeping an eye on Megumi.

“So, how was your trip?” Technically, Kuroo knows how his trip went. Bokuto has kept him updated through the week, but Kuroo knows he’s always loved talking about his family, so he asks anyway. It makes Bokuto immediately perk up.

“It was great! I don’t get to see my family that often these days, so it’s always awesome when we finally get to be all together.” Bokuto smiles wider and Kuroo notices that his dimples are showing. “I’ll have to thank Kenma again, the kids were so pumped to talk to Kodzuken!”

At the mention of the phone call, Kuroo hums lowly. “I was surprised when he accepted, but he seemed happy to talk to them.”

“They were too! They talked about him all day, the only thing that stole his spotlight was Mei, she was _so_ mad at me that I let you see her with her face mask on.” 

Kuroo raises a questioning eyebrow and waits for Bokuto to elaborate, but he doesn’t seem to deem it necessary, just laughing like the reason is obvious. “Why?” Kuroo asks.

This time, it’s Bokuto who’s looking at him with a surprised expression, his eyes wide open and his eyebrows high on his face. The overall owlish look amuses Kuroo.

“Dude, seriously?” he says and Kuroo frowns, still confused. “Man, and I thought you were observant. She had like, the biggest crush on you when we were in high school.”

“Wait, what? Really?!” Kuroo says like he can’t quite grasp what Bokuto is saying. In a vain attempt to make things less confusing for himself, he tries to say it again. “Mei had a crush on me?”

“Yeah! She was so obvious man, I can’t believe you never noticed. Literally everyone knew, our mom always teased her about it!”

“I just thought she was shy!” Kuroo defends himself, and Bokuto bursts out laughing, giving him an idea at how far from the truth this statement is.

And honestly, in retrospective, it kind of makes sense. Kuroo frowns again as he remembers his days of high school, the long afternoons spent at the Bokuto household, filled with warm laughter and welcoming embraces. He barely remembers Reiko, Bokuto’s older sister, already away at university by the time he met Bokuto, but he clearly remembers his younger sisters, Hikaru and Mei. Hikaru probably doesn’t really remember him though, giving how young she was at the time, but Mei very clearly does. She’s only a few years younger than her brother, but it did make a huge difference at that age, and that’s probably why Kuroo never considered the possibility that her attitude towards him was anything other than respect towards someone older than her. But when he thinks about it with this new information, the way she always wanted to hang out with them when Kuroo was there, even with Bokuto constantly telling her to go away, the sweets she always brought to his room for Kuroo to eat, or the way she sometimes blushed when he talked to her, it really does make sense.

“Yeah, okay, maybe I should have noticed,” Kuroo concedes, and it makes Bokuto laugh again.

“Don’t worry about it, you made things easier for her!” Bokuto is still laughing, both at Kuroo’s and his sister’s expense, Kuroo wonders how often her family used to tease her about this. Bokuto puts his hands behind his head and adds with a playful expression, “Bet her notebooks from junior high are filled with pages and pages of ‘Kuroo Mei’ and ‘Bokuto Tetsurou’.”

Kuroo snorts loudly at that and Bokuto looks at him from the corner of his eye, wearing a proud grin on his face. “You wish,” Kuroo says once he’s regained his composure, his smirk back on his face. “If I ever marry into your family I’m _not_ taking your name.”

“Your loss then, because my name is awesome!” Bokuto announces loudly, attracting the attention of a few people passing by. He looks content with his conclusion, a strange amount of pride glowing in his eyes for such a small thing, but it makes Kuroo’s heart swell with a familiar affection.

“Daddy! Hurry up!” Megumi presses him, still a few steps ahead of them, and Kuroo notices that she’s already reached the sand area Bokuto mentioned to them. He also notices how he’s the only one that should hurry up, despite Bokuto still being by his side.

At this exact moment, Bokuto starts to laugh again and jogs towards Megumi. He easily closes the distance between them and spins on his heel to face Kuroo again, amusement never leaving his eyes. “Yeah Kuroo, hurry up! We’re waiting over there!”

Kuroo only rolls his eyes and speeds up his pace, watching Megumi and Bokuto exchange a glance that somehow makes Kuroo believe he’s not quite done with the two of them teaming up against him. Once he’s reached them, he takes a quick look around himself and raises an eyebrow.

“So how are you going to see ‘how rusty I am’ if there’s no net?”

Bokuto puts his hands on his hips at Kuroo’s question, seeming suddenly extremely serious. “The only thing you need to play volleyball is a volleyball,” he says, eyes closed and brow furrowed, almost solemnly. He then opens his eyes to look at Kuroo again and points at the ball between Megumi’s hands. “And we have that!”

“You also usually need a net and players,” Kuroo says, unfazed. “And we don’t have a net, only two players and my very tiny daughter.”

“Am not tiny!” Megumi immediately complains.

“Sorry sweetheart,” he answers sweetly. Bokuto puts one of his hands on her head and roughly ruffles her hair, the strength he’s putting in it quite different from Kuroo’s when he does it, but Megumi only seems delighted by the gesture.

“Yeah Kuroo, look at how tall she is!” Bokuto says with enthusiasm, removing his hand from Megumi’s hair and gesturing wildly to get his point across. As for Megumi, she’s smiling brightly, strands of hair pointing in every possible direction thanks to Bokuto’s treatment, but it doesn’t seem to bother her at all.

Deciding that they’ll have to do with the lack of net and players, Kuroo takes the opportunity of Bokuto and Megumi entertaining themselves to take a better look around himself. There’s a lot of sand around them, paired with some outdoor exercise equipment scattered here and there. Overall, this place is clearly designed to exercise, but not so much to play volleyball. Still, Kuroo grins as he turns his attention back to his friend and his daughter.

“What about we start with a few tosses between the three of us?” he asks, and Megumi looks at him like she just remembered he existed. “Then Bokuto can spike for us,” he adds with a wink, pleased when he sees the way his daughter’s smile widens.

“You’re gonna set for me?” Bokuto says hopefully, his smile then turns into something more teasing, “Sure you remember how to do it?”

“Don’t get too full of yourself,” he answers without missing a beat, a smirk on his own. He looks briefly at Megumi, making sure she can’t hear him, and then whispers to Bokuto, accentuating each word, “I will kick your ass.”

Bokuto’s raucous laugh fills the space between them, he steps forward and claps him on the shoulder with strength when he reaches him, competitiveness glowing in his golden eyes, but there’s also something else. Something more genuine and excited, a bliss so great that it cannot be contained. It’s overflowing, taking over every ounce of Bokuto’s being, from his gleaming eyes to his dazzling smile. It’s a smile Kuroo understands, a smile that says he’s missed this, this banter and this relationship, these dumb challenges they somehow always manage to come up with. Kuroo’s face softens a bit, he’s missed this too.

This exchange only lasts one second, because almost instantly, Bokuto’s hand is off him, and he’s darted towards Megumi. Kuroo follows track and they all position themselves where they have enough space to play without bumping into some of the equipment. Megumi, still holding the ball between her hands, looks up at Kuroo from where she is, waiting for him to tell her what to do. 

“Do you remember how to receive sweetheart?” he asks. Megumi immediately winces at the question, looking away. Kuroo knows she has started learning how to do it a few lessons ago at her volleyball club, but she’s still not so fond of it, mainly because there is no way she can properly do it at such a young age. Still, he does his best to look surprised at her reaction and innocently asks, “What? You don’t like it?”

“No, it’s too hard,” she pouts, holding protectively her volleyball in her arms. “And it’s boring, I don’t like it!”

Kuroo huffs and steps closer to her, crouching down to talk to her.

“You know receives were Daddy’s speciality in highschool?” he tries, and Bokuto clears his throat loudly behind them. Megumi and Kuroo both turn towards the sound, waiting for Bokuto to elaborate.

“I think you mean receives were your _school_ ’s speciality,” he corrects him, a proud grin on his face. At first, Kuroo doesn’t exactly see why the difference is so important to Bokuto, but he quickly adds, “ _Your_ speciality was your amazing blocks.”

Bokuto’s eyes on him are nothing but genuine, and Kuroo feels his skin tingle under the praise, unsure if it’s because it’s one of the best volleyball players in the world complimenting him, or if it’s because it’s _Bokuto_ , with his sun filled eyes and his bright smile, looking at him with the intensity of a man who talks and makes everything sound like it’s the undeniable truth.

“Thanks,” he only answers, a bit taken aback. Bokuto’s smile broadens even more, dimples appear on his face for the second time this day.

“Obviously, I was still the best,” Bokuto feels the need to add. He flexes one of his biceps and gives it a pointed look, “I mean, your blocks don’t hold a chance against _this,_ but you were still pretty good.”

Kuroo snorts, ready to answer, but Megumi beats him to it. “See Daddy, I don’t want to do receives, I want to do like Bokuto!” she tells him, and then flexes her arm too.

“Look,” Kuroo starts softly, ignoring the proud grin Bokuto is sending him, “I know receives might not be as appealing as spikes, but it’s fun too! And I can teach you, as Bokuto said it was my school’s speciality, I’m good at it.” Kuroo looks for any kind of reaction on Megumi’s face, but she doesn’t seem convinced by her dad’s words, so he tries something else. “You know Uncle Yakkun is a libero right? Liberos _only_ receive the ball, do you think watching him play is boring?”

She considers his words for a moment, and Kuroo can almost see her brain searching for the right answer to give. Finally, she settles on, “No, but it’s because Uncle Yakkun is _cool_.”

“And I’m not?” Kuroo tries, holding back his smile.

“Well, you’re not Uncle Yakkun…”

He stares at her as Bokuto starts to laugh loudly, Megumi looks at him and she now seems more proud than upset, knowing she’s the reason Bokuto is laughing this much. The fact that he’s making fun of her dad doesn’t even seem to cross her mind.

Kuroo stands up and turns around to somewhat face Bokuto, he throws him a betrayed look, but Bokuto only wipes away a tear and says, “Sorry dude, but she’s right, you’ve seen Yaku like me.”

And the worst part is probably that Kuroo can’t even argue, not that he would admit it out loud.

Once he’s calmed down enough, Bokuto walks towards Megumi and takes Kuroo’s spot right before her. 

“You know, I was just like you before,” he starts, his voice not as loud as it usually is, “I thought spiking was just the best— and I still do! But if you want to have fun, like _really_ want to have fun, you have to learn to do other things too.”

This time, Megumi seems a little more open to the conversation, but she still says, jutting out her lower lip, “But I don’t know how to do it, it’s not fun when the ball doesn’t do what I want…”

Bokuto puts his hand on her shoulder, an encouraging smile on his lips. “I know it’s hard, but you’ll see, in a few years you’ll realize that what is fun is never what is easy. And for now,” Bokuto puts one hand under Megumi’s volleyball, silently asking her to give it to him. She obliges and Bokuto throws it to Kuroo without even looking at him, trusting him to catch it. And he does, albeit a bit awkwardly because of how busy he was looking fondly at the scene before his eyes. Bokuto resumes, completely unaware of Kuroo’s struggles with the ball, “You don’t have to do it alone, look!”

In less than a second, Bokuto is crouching down again, this time behind Megumi, looking over her shoulder. He positions his arms beneath hers and starts explaining how to properly receive, the little girl attentively listening to everything he says. His hands still on her forearms, Bokuto looks up at Kuroo.

“Kuroo! Toss to us!” he calls out, and Kuroo gets in position. Once right in front of them, he gives them the easiest toss he can manage, quick enough to have a clean trajectory, but slow enough for Megumi to see what’s happening. 

Bokuto helps Megumi as best as he can, his tongue peeking out of his mouth in concentration as he guides her arms to receive the ball correctly. It’s a bit clumsy, but they manage, the ball gently bounces on Megumi’s arms and goes back to Kuroo, too much on the left, but Kuroo sees it and shifts slightly to catch it with ease.

When she realizes she succeeded, Megumi’s eyes twinkle with awe. She turns in Bokuto’s arms to look at him with a huge grin on her face.

“Did you see that?” she shouts in his ears, “I did it!”

“Yeah! You’re the best!” Bokuto tells her with a smile that could put the sun to shame. He quickly removes his arms to hold them up for a double high five.

“I’m the best!” Megumi declares as she claps loudly on Bokuto’s hands.

Kuroo looks at them, full of tenderness. It shouldn’t surprise him how well they get along, Bokuto has always been like this, making friends everywhere he goes in no time, and he has the energy to keep up with Megumi. And Megumi, it’s probably the happiest Kuroo has ever seen her, it makes his heart soar with happiness.

They continue to play like this for a while, Bokuto guiding Megumi’s arms less and less as she starts to get the hang of it, and eventually, she manages to receive a few balls on her own, Bokuto only being there to support her. When she does it, Megumi looks absolutely elated, and Kuroo makes sure to engrave the sight in his memory, from Megumi’s sparkling eyes to her reddened arms. He takes in the way the sun shines behind her and Bokuto, basking them in its light, and the only thing Kuroo can think of is how right this golden aura looks on them.

At some point, Megumi says her arms are hurting, so Kuroo suggests she shows Bokuto how good her spikes are. She seems excited about the idea, but still points out the lack of net, making Kuroo laugh. _That’s my girl,_ he can only think, but he just tells her to pretend there is one, and Bokuto encourages her too, saying —shouting, Kuroo would say— over and over how much he wants to see her play. Kuroo gets in position and tosses to her, he sees on her face how much concentration and care she’s putting into her every move, probably trying to impress Bokuto. And it works, Bokuto compliments her profusely, giving a few tips and advice along the way that Megumi is more than happy to put into practice.

Eventually, she runs towards Bokuto and hands him the volleyball back, asking him quite eagerly to show her his spikes too, even if there’s no net. He laughs, stands up and comes to Kuroo as Megumi sits on the ground, almost vibrating in anticipation. 

Once he’s reached him, Bokuto’s smile lights up a fire in Kuroo’s stomach, something he hasn’t felt in quite a long time. Suddenly, he’s 17 again, warming up on his side of the court, and Fukurodani’s loud captain is smiling at him from the other side of the net. Kuroo lets himself sink in this feeling as he takes the ball Bokuto is handing him, competitiveness bruning in his eyes. More seriously this time, he sets for Bokuto, as precisely as he can in the conditions he’s given, and considering he’s never been a setter. Still, it does the job, Bokuto jumps and he looks like he’s _flying_. 

Kuroo vaguely registers the expression of pure wonder on Megumi’s face, but he mostly sees Bokuto. Bokuto who’s giving his all in this spike, even though he doesn’t need to, Bokuto who seems to treat this little demonstration as seriously as an official match, Bokuto who looks so different once he’s actually getting into the game. His palm comes in contact with the ball and sends it smash on the ground a little further. 

There’s no sound when the ball hits the ground, not really, but it’s not very surprising, the ground isn’t as solid as a gym’s floor. However, the ground in this park is made of sand, and they’re quickly reminded of this as soon as the ball lands on it, whipping up a cloud of sand in its way. Bokuto and Kuroo are the first ones to start coughing, being closer to the impact, but soon enough Megumi starts complaining too.

“Hey you!” Kuroo hears from somewhere behind them. He turns around and sees a man in uniform, looking like a security guard. “What’s all of this for?!” he asks them, getting closer and closer, and as far as Kuroo can tell, he doesn’t look pleased with what they were doing.

Kuroo quickly exchanges a glance with Bokuto, who doesn’t look much prouder than him. But in the blink of an eye, he takes his volleyball back under one arm and effortlessly carries Megumi over his shoulder with the other. He promptly makes sure she’s stable and looks at Kuroo again.

“Run!” he yells at him, and starts sprinting as fast as possible, Megumi laughing all the way.

Kuroo soon joins her, running after them, sometimes looking behind himself to see if the security guard is still following them, but it turns out he gives up pretty easily, he probably only wanted to scold them a bit. Still, Kuroo doesn’t immediately tell Bokuto, way too amused by the situation, and by Megumi’s happy giggles too.

In the end, it’s a painful stitch that forces Kuroo to stop this race. “Okay… I— I think it’s enough now,” he manages to say, struggling to catch his breath. Bokuto, on the other end, doesn’t seem the tiniest bit bothered by this kind of thing. _Traitor_ , Kuroo first thinks, before remembering that between the two of them, he’s not the one who’s a professional athlete.

Bokuto puts Megumi on the ground gently, and she immediately starts jumping, reaching out for him. “Again!” she shouts with stars in her eyes.

“Later,” he says, before adding, looking directly at Kuroo now, “your dad is a little too out of shape for this right now.”

Kuroo would gladly tell him to shut up, but he’s too out of breath for this, and his stitch still hasn’t passed, so he settles for glaring at him. Bokuto has the audacity to look proud of him.

As an apology, Bokuto keeps Megumi busy while Kuroo catches his breath. He sits down on the grass under a tree, mentally noting that skipping his weekly runs that often for the past few months has done more harm to his body than he initially thought. He’s still more fit than most people, but compared to a professional athlete, it’s more than clear that he stopped playing volleyball intensively years ago.

Kuroo observes them for a few minutes as his breathing becomes normal again, he’s not sure what they’re doing exactly, and he’s pretty sure they don’t know either, Bokuto sometimes carrying Megumi on his back, sometimes chasing after her to take his volleyball back, but they look like they’re having fun. Satisfied with this, Kuroo lies down on his back and closes his eyes, letting the sound of their laughter lull him. He doesn’t know how long he stays like this, the sun gently caressing his face through the leaves, a light breeze brushing against his skin. When he feels a body plop down on the ground next to him with a loud thump, he’s not even surprised.

“Done playing with Megumi?” he asks without opening his eyes.

“Yeah, she’s practicing her serves now,” Bokuto answers. 

With difficulty, Kuroo opens his eyes, immediately squinting them because of the sun, and sits up. When his vision adjusts to the light, he sees Megumi standing a few meters away, focused on her ball. Bokuto is sitting casually next to him, observing the little girl as well, who sometimes discretely looks at him to see if he’s still watching her. To her delight, Bokuto smiles at her and gives her a thumb up every time.

“I like her,” he says with a smile. “She’s sweet and she thinks I’m cool.”

A deep chuckle rattles out of Kuroo’s chest, “She likes you too.” Slowly, lazily, he stretches out his legs, sighing in the process. “She saw your match in Osaka last year on TV and since then not a week has passed where she hasn’t talked about you,” Kuroo smiles for himself, remembering the pure wonder on his daughter’s face the first time she saw Bokuto score. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen her happier than the day Hinata told her you were joining his team.”

Bokuto laughs lowly at Kuroo’s words. “It seems like you just can’t get rid of me,” he says with his usual cheerfulness, but the next second his smile falls and he pauses, his expression more serious. “She’s 5 right?”

“Almost 6,” Kuroo answers absentmindedly. He looks at Bokuto, calm and patient, he knows him well enough to know he’s going to tell him what is bothering him, Bokuto has never been really keen on hiding his feelings. It’s something Kuroo has always loved about him, how open he is.

“Almost 6…” he repeats in a whisper. “Man, I can’t believe I didn’t know you had a daughter. I’m sorry.”

Kuroo gulps, not too audibly, he hopes. It’s not really guilt, tugging at his stomach, but it’s a bit too close to it for his liking. “Don’t be, I could’ve told you.”

“But I am,” Bokuto says, his voice serious but still somehow carefree. He looks up at the sky and seems calm, but also determined. “I get why you didn’t tell me, I’ve been pretty bad at staying in touch with everyone when I was abroad.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Kuroo shrugs, “we both had a lot on our plate at the time, it’s not your fault.” He pauses for a second, rapidly deciding if he should continue or not, but Bokuto’s eyes are on him again, nothing but supportive, ready to hear whatever he has to say. “I’m sorry too, I should have contacted you more, but with everything that was going on I didn’t take the time to do it and then… I guess I was worried you wouldn’t want to be my friend anymore or something.” 

The words come out collected enough, but Kuroo still feels pretty stupid admitting it out loud. Bokuto’s eyes are still on him, they haven’t left him one second, he’s looking at him with an intensity that should be unsettling, but instead, it grounds him. At this moment, there’s nothing unsure about Bokuto, nothing for Kuroo to question in his eyes. He opens his mouth to talk, and Kuroo knows that no matter what he’s going to say, he’ll have no other choice than to accept this as the pure, simple truth.

“Dude, there’s nothing that could stop me from thinking of you as my friend,” and he says it with so much sincerity that Kuroo can’t help but laugh, ugly and loud, suddenly feeling light. Bokuto snorts, but he still adds, “I’m serious! You could stop talking to me for like thirty years and I’d still tell people we’re best buds!”

“Aw,” Kuroo coos, still laughing, “don’t worry about this, I don’t plan on stopping to talk to you.” And somehow, it only makes Bokuto’s face light up even more.

“Then start right now!” Bokuto almost yells, his voice now back at its usual volume. Kuroo raises an eyebrow, waiting for Bokuto to go on. “Tell me about what happened while I was away! Tell me about Megumi! Who’s the other parent? Do I know them? Are you still with them? Oh shit— was it rude to tell you my sister wanted to marry you when she was 13?”

Kuroo cracks up at Bokuto’s questions. He takes a few seconds to calm down, Bokuto looking owlishly at him the whole time. “Slow down airhead,” he starts, taking a glance at Megumi, still playing. “A lot happened, but I definitely have to tell you about the time we got Tsukki so drunk he ended up yelling at us from Kenma’s roof,” he pauses for a second while Bokuto laughs wholeheartedly at the thought. “And no, you don’t know Megumi’s mom, no, we’re not together anymore, and no, it wasn’t rude,” he adds, voice laced with amusement on the last part, a sly smile on his face.

“What happened?”

“Nothing tragic, really,” Kuroo shrugs. He leans back on the ground, Bokuto waiting for him to continue. “I’ve always wanted kids, but Megumi wasn’t planned,” Kuroo refuses to say she was an _accident_ , “and even though I didn’t think I’d become a dad so young, I really wanted to keep the child, but my ex didn’t. We talked about it, a lot, and I was ready for her choice not to be the one I wished for— she didn’t want the child, she had every right to, but she did the most selfless thing I’ve ever seen by carrying pregnancy to term.” He takes his time to take a deep breath, a relaxed smile on his lips as he watches Megumi play. “I did my best to help her through it, and to take care of her, but it could never compare to what she did for me, I’ll be forever grateful.

“Anyway, that’s the story. She left Tokyo right after Megumi’s birth, and I haven’t talked to her since then, but I hope she’s happy, she deserves it. After that, I moved in with Kenma because I couldn’t afford to take care of a baby on my own while going to university, he basically raised Megumi with me,” Kuroo says with a smile, remembering fondly the three years he spent living with his best friend. “Plus, Hinata was in Brazil at the time, so I was there for Kenma when he needed it too.”

Once he’s finished his story, Kuroo looks at Bokuto, waiting to see his reaction. His lips are slightly parted, his eyebrows a bit high on his face, but other than that, his face is pretty neutral. Kuroo thinks it looks odd on him, this almost emotionless face, so he scoops closer to him and elbows him in the ribs, pleased at the indignant ‘Eh!’ that slips out of his mouth.

"I told you,” he says as Bokuto rubs with his hand the spot Kuroo hit, “there's nothing dramatic about it, that's just life, so quit making that face."

"I’m not making any face!” Bokuto exclaims, “I was just thinking—"

"Congrats," Kuroo says with a smug smile.

"Shut up," Bokuto laughs, looking like himself again. “It’s just, I think she’s really amazing you know?”

“She is,” and Kuroo means it with every fibre of his being.

“But like, I think it also says something about you? Because she wouldn’t have done it if she wasn’t sure you were gonna be an amazing dad?” Bokuto’s voice is candid, the words flow out of his mouth like he doesn’t even think about it, but Kuroo knows he means it.

He feels his throat tighten at the sudden compliment and has to look away, Bokuto’s eyes on him a bit too much. He coughs, hoping it’ll cover up his flustered state before saying, “Anyway, what about you? How was London?”

Thankfully, Bokuto doesn’t seem to notice anything, neither Kuroo’s embarrassment nor his change of subject. His face immediately brightens as he starts to recount his days in England, telling him about his former team, the people he met there, the food he ate and the places he saw. He’s beaming with joy as he relates every memory he has, every anecdote he wants to share with Kuroo, and there’s a lot of them. And Kuroo listens to him, still keeping an eye on Megumi but nevertheless giving him his full attention, humming and laughing according to the situation. It’s nothing new that Bokuto talks a lot, he always has, Kuroo has always loved listening to him.

Once he’s finished his story, Bokuto looks at him with a bright smile, and Kuroo can’t help but find his enthusiasm endearing. “It sounds nice,” Kuroo says with a small smile on his lips. “I’m glad you liked London.”

“Yeah! Leaving Japan was probably the hardest decision I’ve ever made, but it was worth it.” 

Kuroo remembers it, it was the first time he had seen Bokuto struggle this much over a choice. Usually, Bokuto knew what he wanted, he was confident and didn’t hesitate often, but when he got offered to play for a very renowned team abroad, Kuroo almost didn’t recognize him. He had a lot to win by going abroad, but he knew if things didn’t go well there, he had a lot to lose too, and even Bokuto was afraid sometimes. In the end, he chose to give London a shot, and Kuroo was just glad he took the best decision for himself, because giving his volleyball career, going abroad was clearly the right thing to do, even though knowing Bokuto, Kuroo never really doubted he’d make it no matter what.

Bokuto’s powerful voice pulls him out of his nostalgic daydreaming. “I mean, it wasn’t always easy! At first I couldn’t speak english at all, and I didn’t know anyone there. Practice was intensive and took a lot on me, I was often too tired to talk to anyone in Japan, and time zones are a thing too. It was lonely,” despite his words, Bokuto’s face is open and relaxed, an easy smile splayed on his lips. “Still, it got better after a while, I’m glad I did it.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t reach out more too, I didn’t realize things were that harsh.”

Bokuto shrugs next to him, “You said it yourself, we both had a lot going on, I’m guessing things weren’t always great for you too.” 

“Oh no,” Kuroo laughs. “Honestly, I’m glad Hinata was in Brazil at the time. I don’t think my pride could have survived kicking him out of his own bed to cry into Kenma’s arms all night because I missed my ex.”

Bokuto only laughs with him, and Kuroo is glad that despite the subject of their conversation, the atmosphere is still comfortable and lighthearted, prone to jokes and banter.

“I’m here now,” Bokuto says, looking at him again, his voice softer, and Kuroo smiles at him in a way he hopes says _‘I’m glad you are’_. “Next time you need to cry it out, you can come to me instead of kicking Hinata out,” he adds, his voice teasing but his words genuine.

“Yeah, I’m not looking forward to it,” Kuroo snorts. “That wasn’t the most glorious time of my life.”

“I’m serious though, you were there for me when Akaashi and I broke up, so if I can help you… That’s what friends are for.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” he pauses for a second before adding, “same goes for you I guess.” Bokuto smiles at him, and Kuroo decides that he wants to hear more about what happened to Bokuto in the last few years. “Do you still talk to Akaashi?”

“I do,” he says happily. “When I came back I think he kinda avoided me, but when Yukippe and Kaori said they were getting married we all helped them for the ceremony, so he had no choice but to talk to me. I was never really worried about it though, I knew we could be friends again,” he says with all the confidence in the world. He flashes Kuroo a wide smile, “And I was right!” 

Technically, Kuroo knows Bokuto said way more than that, he knows he should talk about Akaashi, tell him how glad he is that things worked out for them, and how he can’t wait to hang out with them again, or to tell Kenma about it, but at this moment he doesn’t really process it and instead asks, “Yukie and Kaori got married?!”

Bokuto’s face lights up even more, to the point Kuroo asks himself how it’s even possible. “Yeah! Wanna see the pictures?”

Kuroo doesn’t think twice before saying yes. Bokuto then moves closer to him and wriggles a bit to take his phone out of his back pocket. When he turns it on, Bokuto’s home screen background immediately makes Kuroo smile fondly.

Obviously taken on Kaori and Yukie’s wedding, Bokuto stands proudly in the middle of the picture, carrying a bride on each arm, slightly bending on his knees to make himself smaller, letting Onaga’s head appear behind him. Washio and Akaashi stand beside him, Akaashi obviously struggling with Yukie’s dress trying to invade his personal space, and at their feet are Konoha, Komi and Sarukui on their knees, Komi facing the camera, Konoha and Sarukui symmetrically positioned on each side of him, all of them pointing at the girls. It’s an adorable pose, but most of all, what’s truly drawing Kuroo’s attention, more than how pretty the girls are or how fancy the old Fukurodani team looks in their suits, is how happy everyone seems to be, from Bokuto’s grin to Washio and Akaashi’s small smiles, by way of Yukie and Kaori’s shiny eyes, matching with their shiny rings.

Kuroo’s contemplation is cut short when Bokuto starts searching in his phone to show him more pictures. He explains most of them, telling him who took them and what was happening, clearly reviving the memories as he relates them. It takes a while, going through every picture in Bokuto’s folder, but it’s not like Kuroo minds, way too thrilled himself by the idea that two of his old friends got married.

Eventually, a soft ‘Daddy?’ interrupts them, and they both look up to Megumi at the same time. She wordlessly points at one of the trees surrounding them, and Kuroo’s eyes fall on the volleyball she was playing with, stuck between the branches.

Kuroo opens his mouth to say something, maybe ask _how_ this happened, but Bokuto is up in an instant, determinedly walking towards the tree. Megumi instantly straightens her back, probably relieved not to be scolded, and follows him, leaving Kuroo behind. He sighs and reluctantly stands up, taking his sweet time to brush dust off his pants before following suit. He’s not sure what Bokuto is planning to do, but he knows he’ll want to live up to the cool image Megumi has of him, and this is the perfect set-up for Bokuto to do something stupid.

Despite himself, Kuroo smiles at the idea. He’s missed Bokuto’s antics.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading!
> 
> i wanted to say thanks to everyone for all the kind comments and kudos, i didn't expect it at all and it makes me so happy ❤❤ also as you may have noticed we now have a fixed number of chapters! it might change a bit, but i don't think it will since i have everything planned until the end
> 
> i have two things i really wanted to say about this chapter, the first one is that i've honestly put way more thought than necessary into bokuto's sisters, i won't talk that much about them here but at least i wanted to give you all their (and their brother's) ages. so at the time of the fic we have:  
> reiko - 31yo // koutarou - 27yo // mei - 23yo // hikaru - 16yo
> 
> the other one is about the line about past bokuaka, i didn't put it in the tags because it'll only be mentioned twice in the fic, including this one, but i really wanted to write what is, in my opinion, a healthy friendship between exes, without pain and without resentment, so be assured that akaashi is more than fine!
> 
> come talk to me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/martialarcs), and thank you again!


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